An Indian settled abroad or the one living in India and yet to identify with his roots, will vouch for the passion for cricket and Bollywood, irrespective of which social strata, economic sphere or cultural zone he belongs to. Cricket became a religion and Bollywood, the greatest recreation and international acclaim for this developing nation, striving hard against all odds to achieve unity in diversity.

But, what I ‘m trying to point out to is the fact that India stands united in interest when it comes to cricket as well as Bollywood. The passion is shared by the entire nation as one. But, what is the more preferred choice: Bollywood or Cricket? Ask yourself that whether you will skip a cricket match for your Bollywood favorite actor’s new release or watch a crucial match despite a good film’s release? So, how far can one of the two outwit the other? Or is that possible at all?

In an unprecedented event, legendary cricketers Maninder Singh, Nikhil Chopra and Vinod Kambli launched the cricket website, www.zeecric.com, at an international cricket ground. The website takes pride in tracking the passion of every cricket lover. Zaheer Abbas, Steve Waugh, Maninder Singh, Nikhil Chopra and Vinod Kambli are among some regular contributors to various columns on the web site.

With a cricket fan in mind, the website covers every aspect of the game. Along with the most comprehensive information on the game, its visitors enjoy easy navigation and real time updates about the happenings on the field. Its creative presentation pleases the eyes of the visitor. Without cluttering the screen, the home page highlights all the top cricket stories of the day.

Apart from the sections, which are dedicated to the specific area of interests like One Day International, Test Matches, Twenty20, First-Class Cricket and Women’s Cricket, every international team enjoys a separate space on the site.

Commencement of the biggest cricket event sees live coverage of multiple matches embellished with graphs, manhattans, wagon wheels, ball-by-ball commentary and a live scorecard on the site. Readers can relive the highlights through excerpts from the live commentary on the site. Moving a step further from recording the passing cricket parade, the panel of expert columnists discusses and dissects the nuances of the game for you. But they don’t have the last word on everything. Fan’s Diary gives the readers a chance to rub shoulders with the pundits of the game by refuting or rebuffing their opinions by recording their views online.

The website sieves all records and stacks them at a dedicated space called Number Game. Spotlight features issues that stay alive long after the news of the day has faded away. Did You Know? provides insight into ‘known but little understood’ facets of cricket. A daily poll and other contests pry the soul of the cricket crazy. Ingenious wallpapers and latest photo galleries are part of the site’s visual treat.

www.zeecric.com is the only website that has an exceptional space called the History of Indian Cricket which documents the past and the present of the game in India from its humble beginning during the ‘Raj’ and to its present ‘cult’ status.

So what are you waiting for…? Just log on to www.zeecric.com to know what’s happening in the world cup?

WRITTEN BY GOHER IQBAL PUNN (Bollywood Analyst)

We have collated a list of 11 Bollywood hot bodies that could feature in the Bollywood Babes XI. We have the two opening ladies, a formidable middle order, and a quartet to bowl you away.

To check out these babes in their respectful positions in the XI, click on the link below:

Predicted top 5 sports films of 2007/2008 are:

# 5 – Hattrick

Milan Luthria’s comic take on the cricket craze affecting the lives of the people, released this Friday.

By the time you will be reading this, it would already complete a day’s test at the box office. The film stars Nana Patekar, Paresh Rawal, Rimi Sen and Kunal Kapoor playing the married couple.

The marriage is on the rocks beacuase of Rimi’s fascination for Indian cricketer M S Dhoni. The film’s music is slowly catching up thanks to the composition of Pritam and Rajesh Roshan. The film may do well though the verdict is expected to be out soon.

For decades, ‘Crickwood’ has been the soul of a nation as diverse as us. The delightful combination of Cricket and Bollywood has given us our moments of celebration, despair, anxiety and an obvious sense of pride. With the number of winners equaling the number of failures, the combination is still the most cherished and embraced one. But one thing that it has been churning out and at a consistent rate is: Celebrated couples from the wonder world and the sports arena.

The Bollywood of India and the Indian cricket have been hailed as the most vital part of an Indian life. But, what brings them together is their undying love for one another. From subjects based on cricket to cheering for the Indian team, Bollywood has kept a close relation with the most popular sport of the nation. And the Bollywood damsels are no exception. They have been frequently linked up with many of the pin-up boys of the game. So, what really attracts a Bollywood beauty towards a Cricket hunk? Hmmm… let’s find out!

Among the numerous liaisons which made headlines, there have been a few who actually saw the light of the day. Among the most successful ‘Crickwood’ couples is the classy pair of yester years’ Bollywood beauty Sharmila Tagore and India’s former successful Cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi. But at the same time, most of the other flings involving many cricketing giants and the Bollywood actresses have failed miserably.

The journey made by some of the big and some not-so big cricketers into the film arena has been more of a sorry affair as they tasted failure in majority cases. The trend of cricketers trying their hand at films is not a new one. One of the greatest cricketing giants, Sunil Gavaskar made a brief appearance in a Hindi film ‘Malamaal’ and a Marathi film ‘Savli Premachi’, both failing at the box office. Moving on, there were other famous cricketers joining the trend like Sandeep Patil and Syed Kirmani making a special appearance for the Bollywood flick ‘Ek Ajnabee’ which again was a flop venture in 1985. Another cricketer, world cup winning captain of the Indian team, Kapil Dev has played his real self in quite a few films including some of the recent ones like Stumped, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Iqbal, Aryan and a forthcoming release of 2007, ‘Dillagi… Yeh Dillagi’.

As it is evident, cricketers’ tryst with Bollywood has not been a successful one. With cricketers generally playing their real selves in the films, didn’t get much to offer in their short roles. Cricketers like Ajay Jadeja and Vinod Kambli played some significant roles as well. Kambli made his Bollywood debut in Suniel Shetty starrer ‘Annarth’. Even then such full-fledged roles could not change the fortunes for these cricketers in the film industry. No matter how famous a cricketer is, the films fell flat at the ticket window.

IMG Media , a global leader in sport and entertainment television production in association with STAR News launches ‘Crazy Kiya Re –World’s Sexiest Cricketer’. Crazy Kiya Re is a first of its kind interactive show in search for the ‘World’s Sexiest Cricket Team’ and ‘World’s Sexiest Cricketer’ thus adding a touch of glamour to World Cup 2007. The weekly show begins on March 10, 2007 and will be aired on STAR News at 9:30 a.m.

Targeted at everyone with or without interest in Cricket, who wants to be a part of the World Cup fever – ‘Crazy Kiya Re’ will provide an opportunity to the women fans across India to choose their favourite cricketer from among all the players around the world on the basis of their sex appeal.

According to Mr. Balu Nayar, Managing Director, IMG India, “Crazy Kiya Re marks IMG Media’s beginning in the Indian TV entertainment space. We have a dominant position in the TV entertainment sector in the UK, and we will be looking at continued business growth in India in this direction. The format of this cricket-based show is driven towards expanding the audience for cricket in India.”

Says Mr. Uday Shankar, CEO – STAR News, ” STAR News has consistently pioneered an innovative and inclusive style of programming with a view to expanding the news viewing universe. Crazy Kiya Re is an exciting format delivered in cutting-edge style and targeted at the women audience the world over, and by extension to the cricket fan looking for something more from his favourite cricket programme. It is the excitement of World Cup cricket in a ‘Crazy Kiya Re’ package! Our association with world-class leaders IMG Media promises to set a new benchmark in presentation.”

Hosted by none other than celebrity VJ, Cyrus Sahukar , the programme will feature an expert celebrity guest panel comprising of three glamorous women from different walks of life (Actresses, Models, Designers / Socialite, Media Personality / Politician/ Writers) every week. Some of these stars include the likes of Dipannita Sharma, Ketaki Dave, Shaina NC, Suchitra Pillai, Priyadarshini Rao, Gautami Kapoor, Purbi Joshi, Delnaz Paul, Natasha Suri, Shraddha Nigam, Narayani Shastri, Gauri Tonk amongst others.

The programme revolves around the idea of first creating the ‘Sexiest Playing Eleven Team’ in the category of Opening batsman, Opening batsman, Middle Order batsman, Middle Order Batsman, Wicketkeeper, All rounder, All rounder, Spinner, Spinner, Speedster, Speedster.

The Selection Process:

• A promotional campaign will run on STAR News inviting viewers (largely women) to vote for the ‘ World’s Sexiest Cricketer.’
• Once the votes are garnered in each of the playing category, three players with maximum votes will be nominated in each of category.
• The nominated candidates will be discussed and debated in each episode by the hosts and celebrity guests on the show on the basis of 3 pre-decided and defined segments:

Segment 1:
•Bodyline (physique)
•Pitch Report (eyes/ Hair/ Smile)

Segment 2:
•Padding Up (Dress Sense)
•Googly (gossip / comment / other coverage)

Segment 3:
•Third umpire (Vox pops – what the women of the world really think)
•Howz That (Attitude/ Personality/ other interest)
•In addition to the expert votes, the viewers will also get an opportunity to vote for their favourite cricketer through an interactive sms poll.

The Judgement Process:

The judgement will take place on the basis of:
• Points assigned by expert panel
• Points accumulated by audience / viewer participation.
• In case of ties the votes of guests will be used to determine the winner

‘Crazy Kiya Re’ is a series of 13 glamorous episodes, which will be aired every Saturday on STAR News at 9:30am. The first 11 episodes will witness the selection of the ‘Sexiest Playing Eleven Team’. Based on the audience voting and the points assigned by the expert panel, the Twelfth episode will declare the ‘ Sexiest Playing Eleven Team’, inviting the audience to further vote for the ‘ World’s Sexiest Cricketer’ from the chosen eleven. The thirteenth episode will be the grand finale episode where ‘The World’s Sexiest Cricketer’ will be announced.

Women get to call the shots….

Performances will take a backseat
…
And looks will score all the sixes…

So all you women out there, tune into STAR News every Saturday starting March 10, 2007 at 9.30 am and be the destiny writers for these world famous cricket icons…

WRITTEN BY GOHER IQBAL PUNN (Bollywood Analyst)

In the recent past, sports especially cricket has been used to cash in on the cricket mania countrywide. One of the finest examples is the Oscar-nominated Lagaan. Ashutosh Gowarikar’s highly successful take on the British-ruled India had Aamir using cricket to get tax exemption for an entire village. The film got both critical acclaim and box office success for its novel storyline. Another film that reminds us of the sporty Aamir Khan is his successful ’92 home production “Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar”. The film was based on high school drama revolving around a prestigious cycle race competition.

So, the question is why only cricket, why not any other sport? In another recent film by the talented film-maker Nagesh Kukunoor, cricket was the central theme of yet another critically acclaimed film. ‘Iqbal’ was based on the story of a boy who is hearing impaired and has a speech disorder and struggling to make it into the national cricket team. For a cricket crazy country like us, other sports have always been side-lined. The latest cricket-inspired film to hit the theatres will be Rimi Sen and Kunal Kapoor starrer “Hattrick”. The film is based on the tensions created by cricket in the married life of a couple where the wife is striking in love with Indian cricketer M S Dhoni. Weird!